(Bloomberg) -- Inflexion is in talks to buy law firm DWF Group Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, amid a tentative return of take-private deals in the UK.
The private equity firm is discussing terms of a potential takeover of London-listed DWF, according to the people. Inflexion is considering offering a significant premium to DWF’s recent trading price, they said.
DWF shares have fallen about 19% in this year. The stock closed at 65.50 pence on Friday, giving the company a market value of £224 million ($287 million).
Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty that Inflexion will make a firm offer, the people said. Representatives for Inflexion and DWF declined to comment.
Deal activity involving law firms has been heating up. Allen & Overy said in May it’s planning to merge with Shearman & Sterling to create one of the world’s largest legal firms with $3.4 billion in revenue.
DWF provides legal and business services to companies across eight sectors including financial, transport and energy and natural resources. The company has offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Its net revenue increased 3.4% in the six months through October — the company’s fiscal first half — to about £179 million.
Inflexion manages around £8 billion and specializes in mid-market deals, investing £10 million to £400 million per transaction. It’s backed more than 100 companies since its inception in 1999 and its current portfolio includes Chambers & Partners, an information services provider for the legal sector, and risk management firm PMC Treasury.
Buyout firms have struggled to complete larger takeovers of public companies this year, amid challenges in financing such transactions and price disagreements with selling parties. But the last six weeks have brought signs of recovery, with EQT AB agreeing to buy veterinary drugmaker Dechra Pharmaceuticals Plc for £4.46 billion and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. inking a deal for payments firm Network International Holdings Plc.
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